Question On Notice No. 2871 asked in the Legislative Council on 12 March 2020 by Hon Martin Aldridge
Question Directed to the: Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Health
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
In relation to the Northam, Merredin, Narrogin
and Katanning hospitals, and I ask:
(a) on how many occasions from 1 July 2019 to
present, at each hospital, has a doctor not been rostered;
(b) with respect to (a), what was the reason for the
unavailability of a doctor for each occasion;
(c) with respect to (a), on each occasion a doctor
was not available to be rostered, how many ATS 1, 2 or 3 patients presented to
each hospital, during each period;
(d) what strategy has the WA Country Health Service
put in place to avoid situations when a doctor is not available to be rostered;
(e) on how many occasions in the last 12 months at
each hospital, has a doctor been rostered but unable to be contacted, or unable
to respond;
(f) with respect to (e), on each occasion a doctor
was not available to respond when rostered, how many ATS 1, 2 or 3 patients
presented to each hospital during each period; and
(g) how many salaried Doctors are employed by each
hospital?
Answered on 21 May 2020
I am advised:
(a) Occasions from 1 July 2019 to 30 March 2020 where there was no doctor available to be rostered or rostered on call, for a 12 hour shift, in the Emergency Department (ED) are as follows:
|
Site
|
Number of occasions
|
|
Northam
|
0
|
|
Merredin
|
7
|
|
Narrogin
|
18
|
|
Katanning
|
24*
|
*periods of 24 hrs where no on-call GP roster have been counted as 2 x 12 hr shifts
(b) The reasons for doctor unavailability to be rostered or rostered on call include:
- Decline in or insufficient numbers of GP or local medical practitioners available to fill the roster;
- Unexpected leave taken at short notice; or
- The need to meet fatigue management standards when rostering.
(c)
|
|
ATS 1
|
ATS 2
|
ATS 3
|
|
Northam
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Merredin
|
0
|
5
|
9
|
|
Narrogin
|
3
|
25
|
65
|
|
Katanning
|
0
|
6
|
41
|
Note: These figures include presentations when local GP advised that they would be available to attend ATS 1 and 2 presentations, although not rostered for full on-call.
(d) Northam, Merredin, Narrogin and Katanning Hospitals have 24 hour seven day access to the Emergency Telehealth Service (ETS). In addition, the WA Country Health Service (WACHS) has the following strategies:
- Rosters are created several months in advance with local doctors and regular contractors being given first option of available shifts.
- Advance notification of roster vacancies is provided to recruitment agencies.
- Local senior doctors may be asked to cover roster gaps in ED when rostered on duty for another task such as anaesthetic or ward cover.
- Northam and Albany Hospitals are able to provide remote support to Narrogin, Merredin and Katanning Hospitals.
- ED Nurse Practitioners are available in Northam, Merredin and Katanning Hospitals and can assist by seeing lower acuity ED presentations.
- The Inpatient Telehealth Service (ITS) has been implemented in many WACHS hospitals, including Merredin and Katanning. Like ETS, the ITS provides access to doctors and nursing teams who can assist local staff with assessing, responding to clinical deterioration, admitting and discharging patients from inpatient facilities.
Further strategies to ensure a sustainable medical workforce model include potential collaborations with neighbouring regions and regionwide telehealth models to support existing staff.
(e) Nil.
(f) Not applicable.
(g)
|
Site
|
Number of Salaried Doctors employed at each Hospital
|
|
Northam
|
1.15 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)
|
|
Merredin
|
0.3 FTE
|
|
Narrogin
|
2.0 FTE
|
|
Katanning
|
0 FTE
|